More Japanese Robot Creepiness: Affetto, the Robot Baby

The Japanese are arguably at the forefront of robot technology (see examples here and here). And the latest robot creation to come from our Japanese friends is Affetto, the robot baby.

Designed and built by the eggheads at Osaka University’s Asada Labs, Affetto will be the “world’s most realistic baby” robot; created so researchers can better study the relationship between caregivers and babies. When completed, the robot baby will weigh about 3 pounds and be able to move its arms, neck and spine to simulate as closely as possible–a real baby.

Except real babies aren’t quite as creepy.

I guess these scientists aren’t too concerned about the “uncanny valley”—the idea that the more realistic a robot looks and acts, the creepier it’ll seem to humans.

Which is why this:

is a lot less disturbing than this:

Still, if practicing your parenting skills on a robot baby that looks like it’ll come to life and strangle you while you sleep floats your boat, Affetto may soon be a reality. Check out this recently released demonstration of his bodily skills:

WestWorld. Imagine stumbling into a ghost town when all the creators have died off and what’s left is a fraction of a remnant of what humans were like. It’s a living museum or theme park. I don’t ever think they’ll reach Terminator or iRobot proportions, but to invest this much effort into building these “toys”, I’d say it’s more about creating something that can last. Americans are all about guns and death, maybe the Japanese are thinking about life after it.

Julia4 years ago

this scared the hell out of me. ive beeen scared of robots since i watched i robot when i was like 4 or 5…. or 13… yea im 13 now…. so what!!!!? y! y do you have to make such creepy things smart people? make adorable none scary helpfull to both me and the community (mostly me) and we will all be happy. I PROMISE!!! please…. I ask of you, no scary baby dolls thats all I ask of you. (._.)
SINCERELY,
person scared of robots